Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has slammed rivals YSR Congress and his predecessor, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, over a lab report about animal fats in ghee used to make laddoos offered as prasadam, or devotional offerings, at the temple town of Tirupati.
A July 17 report from the Centre of Analysis and Learning in Livestock and Food, or CALF, lab at the centre-run National Dairy Development Board in Gujarat, released Wednesday, said it found animal fat in ghee used to make the famous Tirupati laddoos when the YSRCP was in power.
The report indicated the ghee contained traces of fish oil, beef tallow, and lard; the last is a semi-solid white fat product obtained by rendering the fatty tissue of a pig.
“Even Tirupati laddoo was made with substandard ingredients… they used animal fat instead of ghee,” the Chief Minister raged at a legislature party meeting in Amravati the day before.
He declared his government has ensured a higher quality of ingredients, including ghee, is being used now, and that that all food offerings at the iconic temple were now of improved quality.
Mr Naidu’s son and Andhra Pradesh IT Minister Nara Lokesh also joined the attack.
The lord venkateswara swamy temple at Tirumala is our most sacred temple. I am shocked to learn that the @ysjagan administration used animal fat instead of ghee in the tirupati Prasadam. Shame on @ysjagan and the @ysrcparty government that couldn’t respect the religious… pic.twitter.com/UDFC2WsoLP
— Lokesh Nara (@naralokesh) September 18, 2024
“The Lord Venkateswara Temple at Tirumala is our most sacred temple. I am shocked to learn that the Jagan Mohan Reddy administration used animal fat instead of ghee… shame on them… (their) government could not respect the religious sentiments of crores of devotees.”
Union Minister Ram Mohan Naidu, who is from the TDP, told NDTV “we always knew YSRCP was involved in corruption… but didn’t think they would do this with Tirupati”.
“The deity is sacred and special to all in the state… and now NDDB itself has confirmed presence of animal fat. This is beyond shocking and disgusting. The government will get to the bottom of this,” he said, vowing action against those responsible. “We know this is the beginning. More will come out.”
The YSRCP, however, has slammed the “malicious” claims and accused the TDP of lying for political gain. The party also said it was Mr Naidu, in fact, who had damaged the sanctity of the temple, and of the crores of devotees, by making such outrageous comments.
రాజకీయం లబ్ధికోసం ఎంతటి నీచానికైనా చంద్రబాబు వెనుకాడడని మరోమారు నిరూపితం అయ్యింది. భక్తుల విశ్వాసాన్ని బలపరిచేందుకు తిరుమల ప్రసాదం విషయంలో నేను, నా కుటుంబం ఆ దేవ దేవుని సాక్షిగా ప్రమాణానికి సిద్ధంగా ఉన్నాం. చంద్రబాబుకూడా తన కుటుంబంతో ప్రమాణానికి సిద్ధమా?2/2
— Y V Subba Reddy (@yvsubbareddymp) September 18, 2024
YSRCP’s YV Subba Reddy wrote in Telugu on X that “it has been proved once again that Chandrababu (Naidu) will not hesitate to do anything bad for the benefit of politics”. The YSRCP leader also declared himself ready “to take an oath as witnesses… in (this) case” and asked, “Is he also ready to take oath?”
The Congress, meanwhile, has also taken shots at the YSR Congress, with the former Chief Minister’s sister, now the boss of the Congress’ state unit, demanding a high-level CBI inquiry. The claim, she said in Telugu on X, is “damaging to the sanctity of the deity worshipped by millions of Hindus”.
“If there are no political angles to your allegations… if you have no intention of playing politics on this issue… form a high-level committee or call for a CBI inquiry. Find out who is responsible,” she said.
“The Congress demands you find out the truth,” she declared.
An estimated three lakh laddoos are made in Tirupati every day. To make these the temple trust buys massive quantities of ghee via e-tenders issued every six months.
